Discovery suggests facial piercings may have been used in Mid Upper Palaeolithic
The research suggests that the Pavlovians, who lived more than 25,000 years ago, may have been the pioneers of permanent body modification through facial piercings known as "labrets".
A new study on the Mid Upper Palaeolithic hunter-gatherer populations in Central Europe, led by John Charles Willman, from the Research Centre for Anthropology and Health (CiAS) of the University of Coimbra, suggests that the Pavlovian peoples, who lived over 25,000 years ago, may have been the pioneers of permanent body modification, using facial piercings known as "labrets".
The findings, published in the Journal of Paleolithic Archaeology, are based on the detailed analysis of tooth wear on molars, premolars, and canines from Pavlovian human fossils. The unique patterns of buccal wear provide the strongest evidence for the use of facial ornaments (labrets) among the Pavlovians. According to the researchers, this is one of the earliest known pieces of evidence for body modification practices in the archaeological record.
"We examined human remains from several Pavlovian archaeological sites and compared dental wear patterns with modern ethnohistoric and bioarchaeological examples. John Charles Willman says: "Upper teeth were more affected than lower teeth, with upper first molars showing the most visible wear.
According to the researcher, there appears to be a strong age-related progression of wear, which is unilateral in younger individuals and bilateral in older ones, suggesting continuous use of the 'labret' throughout life. The uniqueness of these patterns in children, adolescents and adults, reinforces the hypothesis that facial piercing was a widespread cultural practice among Pavlovian peoples.
"If confirmed, this finding will provide fascinating insights into how Upper Palaeolithic peoples shaped their identity through body modification. This study not only adds to our knowledge of the social behaviour of Pavlovians but also suggests that the practice of body adornment may have much deeper historical roots than previously thought," he concludes.
The scientific article " Probable Use of Labrets Among the Mid Upper Paleolithic Pavlovian Peoples of Central Europe" can be accessed here.